Vinnie: When I first got the idea to do this, I saw it as a labor of love. I wanted something I could be proud of and have some fun at the same time, and hopefully have an effect by righting this wrong. I know that’s a lofty goal, but if you don’t have goals, then nothing happens. When I contacted Wendell with a letter it just so happened that Joanne had contacted Wendell and Wanda just two weeks prior to my doing so. So there was some serendipity involved—I took it as a sign from above that this could lead to good things.

Wanda: Wendell said, “This must be meant to be since everything is coming together at the same time.”

Wendell Goodman: Joanne was with CMT for several years. She produced The 40 Greatest Women of Country Music.

Wanda: I think the film is going to do great wonders for me. Certainly all of my fans that I already have will enjoy it.

Vinnie: It was very nice of Wanda and Wendell to let us in and give us full access. We started shooting when Wanda was recording her current CD (I Remember Elvis) and we wrapped up shooting, I would say 80% of it, at the CD party when it was released. In between we have lots of performances, a real good flavor of different kinds of audiences in the U.S. and Europe.

Wanda: And the age groups of the fans; we had a real spread of ages.

Wendell: She’s recorded for 52 years.

Kevin: Following you around like that, did you ever worry that Vinnie was going to turn you into The Osbournes?

Wendell: (Laughs) I just don’t have the vocabulary for it!

Kevin: Did Elvis Costello talk to you about his letter to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame urging them to induct you before he sent it?

Wanda: Well, of course in conversation we talked about it.

Wendell: When Elvis found out that Wanda was not in the Hall of Fame he just couldn’t believe it. It shocked him! We asked him later, would he write a letter for us that we could use in our presentation to those that we know on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee. There’s about thirty on it I think, maybe forty. And he said “You betcha I’ll get you a letter.” Within a week he had a letter to us. It’s on our web page.

Wanda: He really has a way with words.

Vinnie: He’s doing an interview with us (KPI) soon and I’m having him read that letter on tape.

Wanda: Okay, great! For posterity! (Laughs)

Kevin: What did you think of (the Johnny Cash bio-pic), Walk the Line?

Wanda: I was quite flattered, frankly. I was very impressed with the film. As far as my knowledge of working with Johnny Cash, the atmosphere backstage, I felt they got the real essence of all of that. It was done very nicely with details, even to the point of showing film of watching Johnny from the wings every night that he was on the show with us. Jerry Lee (Lewis) would always come and get me and say, “C’mon, we gotta watch Johnny!” He said, “He’s going to be the biggest thing in country music,” and I just kind of laughed and said, “No, not him!” My character was in the movie. This girl had lines and everything but most of it, I guess, ended up on the cutting room floor. As Johnny goes off stage in that one scene where he storms off and hands Jerry Lee his guitar, Jerry Lee gets a hold of my hand, my character’s hand, and off we go to the stage. So not only did they use my song in the background, they also had a part for me. I was quite flattered.

Kevin: That’s the kind of vintage footage that’s going to be in Every Night is Saturday Night. Did you have a field day collecting that stuff?

Vinnie: Yeah, and we still are. We have some footage from a show called Town Hall that’s currently distributed by Bear Records in Germany with lots of great performances… and to see Wanda take control of that stage! She’s up there and she’s in her element and today she’s doing the same thing, but when you see that footage! I was looking at it the other day, and there’s a fiddle player in the background and she doesn’t know what to do! It really took me back to that period. It was, “Wow, this was new then!” We take it for granted today, but you can look at that footage and it captured a moment in history.

Wanda: What an eye for detail you have! But that’s true. The steel guitars and the fiddles, they were up there but they just kind of smiled and patted their foot and looked around.

Kevin: Is a lot of this footage coming from your collection, Wanda, or have you not saved things like that over the years?

Wanda: We have quite a few things that have been sent to us or that Wendell has acquired. Of course Bear Family, they do such a wonderful job with their stuff. I’m glad I have that because it’s the whole show. And I remember all these people, so that’s fun. We also have some footage from the Ozark Jubilee, the first country music network television that I was a regular on for five years. Some of that with Red Foley is fun to watch.

Kevin: Do you have a favorite clip or a piece that really brings about an emotional response for you?

Wanda: I don’t think so.

Kevin: You spent quite a bit of time playing Las Vegas. Did you ever get to hang out with any of the Rat Pack?

Wanda: No, no. I wasn’t in that (laughs) in a place for that. Just like everybody else, I was a fan of some of those guys. But I never did even get to see them much less meet them. I did, in Las Vegas, get to meet and visit a little bit with Liberace. And the last time I ever saw Elvis was in Las Vegas.

Kevin: So the film has footage from all over the U.S. and into Sweden and Finland. Was this shot over consecutive evenings or just at select stops?

Vinnie: I’m doing this currently on my own nickel. There’s a lot of other TV production that I have going on so I was trying to say, “Okay, if we’re shooting here, it makes sense for me to be somewhere.” We basically tried to follow Wanda and Wendell as much as we could afford to. And I’ve got to tell you, it’s hard to keep up with them! They’re like the Eveready…

Wanda: Batteries?

Vinnie: Yeah. And they wore me out! I’m kind of used to this; this is my business. But they’re very impressive.

Wanda: Vinnie is very un-intrusive. As we’d move along I’d forget that he was even there.

Vinnie: I’m sneaky.

Wanda: I’d be doing something, and I’d look up and there’s that camera. I hope I wasn’t scratchin’…

Vinnie: We cut all that out.

Wendell: Wanda, honey, don’t pick your nose!

(Laughter)

Kevin: Were any of the stops at your gospel performances?

Wanda: No, I don’t think so.

Vinnie: All the performances were straight ahead rock ’n roll shows.

Wendell: Although she does a gospel song on every show.

Vinnie: Yeah. There were times a couple of gospel songs were performed impromptu, and that was always fun.

Kevin: I know there was a time when you did not do the rock stuff at all. What occurred that made it okay again?

Wanda: I don’t claim to know how God works, but God is the one that Wendell and I strive to please. We feel like that if we’re just in His will; that’s where we want to be. For many years, we had our own ministry of sorts where I did a gospel concert and Wendell spoke and gave testimony, and that was very gratifying and fulfilling work. We did that about fifteen years. However, my intention in starting to do this gospel work was never to divorce my country music. It seemed to be just what happened. It was a transition time in the music business; country music was changing drastically. They weren’t playing the artists on the radio from my era; it was all the new kids on the block. And so it just seemed natural that I did this work. And then in 1985, we were invited to come to Europe and do a rockabilly album and to do a tour. We found all these fans over there and the record was chosen as the record of the decade over there. So we could see our lives changing again. But we feel like if I can be a voice for God to the masses, then that’s the way God is using me at this moment. It may change tomorrow, but until then, I will be telling everyone I can that Jesus Christ changed my life.

Kevin: I know you cut some sides in German for your European fans. How about when you’re in Scandinavia? Ever sing anything in Swedish?

Vinnie Kralyevich, president of KPI, along with Associate Producer Joanne Fish and Wanda

Wanda: There’s only one song where I sing a couple of lines in Swedish. At one point when my career was really taking off in Scandinavia I wondered if I should learn conversational Swedish. But everyone there speaks English except for the very old people. All the young adults and children speak English and they would rather be speaking English. When I did all the tunes in the German language, I asked them the same thing. Shouldn’t I learn a little German? But they said, “Oh, no. The way you say our words in your songs is very good to our ears!” (Laughs) So they let me off the hook. I would’ve been glad to have learned a little but they didn’t seem to deem it necessary.

Kevin: So you just did all that phonetically?

Wanda: That’s right. Hardest work I’ve ever done. It was a stretch, but I enjoy a challenge.

Kevin: What are your thoughts on premiering the film in Oklahoma City?

Vinnie: Well, that sounds like a good idea. That never occurred to me but I think that’s a very good idea.

Kevin: How about just a big party at Wanda’s house?

Vinnie: We already destroyed their house. They’re not going to let us back.

Wendell: If we do, we’ll be sure and invite you.